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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26523127">Retrospection</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/skyestar7703/pseuds/skyestar7703'>skyestar7703</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Assassination Classroom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amnesia, Crack, Fluff and Humor, Gakushuu being a disaster for an entire fic, Gen, Light Angst, Memory Loss</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:40:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>15,847</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26523127</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/skyestar7703/pseuds/skyestar7703</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Asano Gakushuu wakes up one day and realizes he has no idea who he is. All of his memories are completely gone. </p><p>Rather than submit to the Mortifying Ordeal of letting people know he has amnesia, he decides to see how long he can last without anyone realizing that something's wrong with him.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akabane Karma &amp; Asano Gakushuu, Asano Gakuhou &amp; Asano Gakushuu, Asano Gakushuu &amp; Sakakibara Ren</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>254</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>537</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I'm such a sucker for Amnesia fics, and so I decided to finally write one, featuring everyone as human disasters(but especially the Asanos). I hope you all enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He wakes up on wet grass, feeling it soak into his clothes and looking up at the sky. It’s that time of morning where it’s not quite daytime, but the sun has risen enough that the streaks of dawn are gone. It’s actually very pretty, he thinks, even if he does like the colors of dawn.</p><p>At least he thinks he does.</p><p>Where is he again? </p><p>There's a building that’s also looming above him, casting its shadow over him. He can’t tell what kind of building it is right now, but maybe if he takes a closer look, he’ll figure it out. He tries to sit up, and falls back to the ground as a wave of pain hits his head. </p><p><i>A headache. Fantastic, just what I needed</i>. He waits for a while longer as the feeling of being hit in the head with a hammer subsides, before getting up slowly. His shirt is still damp, which is kind of annoying. </p><p>He takes another look at his shirt, and tie. It looks like a school uniform, if he’s not mistaken. Maybe this building is a school? Now that he’s taking a closer look at it, he can sort of see how it could be a school. </p><p>Why is he here so early in the morning? Maybe he had some activity that brought him here early, but then why would he be laying in the grass all by himself? It doesn’t add up. </p><p>His head is still throbbing, so he closes his eyes. What was he doing before he woke up? He racks his mind for the answer.</p><p>And-</p><p>And comes up empty. He doesn’t know why he’s here, or how he got here. </p><p>Okay. This is fine. Everything is fine. His head hurts like a bitch and he doesn’t know where he is or why, but it’s all fine. Nothing to worry about, no sir, not at all. Is he panicking? He feels like he’s panicking. </p><p>Okay. He’s fine. What is the last thing he can remember? He can go from there if he needs to. It’ll be fine. He tries to control his breathing, but it’s getting kind of hard, because he searches his brain again and finds absolutely nothing. No memories, except the ones he’s made in the past few minutes. <i>Fuck oh fuck oh fuck</i>. </p><p><i>Deep breaths</i>. Okay, so he isn’t - maybe he’s not fine. Not remembering anything isn’t generally considered “fine”, so that. That is something he needs to work on. He can do that. </p><p>His name. Does he remember his name?</p><p>…</p><p>…</p><p>…</p><p>...No?</p><p>Well fuck.</p>
<hr/><p>There’s a bag next to him that’s probably his, thankfully, so he grabs it and starts walking, trying to fight through the head pain until he can do something about it. Eventually, he finds his way into the school building, which is definitely a school building, because it says Kunugigaoka Junior High on the outside near the door, in Japanese. So he’s a middle school student in Japan.</p><p>That’s something, at least. </p><p>The inside is very clean and modern, giving off the impression that this is a very expensive school. What kinds of kids go here, he wonders? Perhaps it’s just a very good school that gets a lot of money for its top status, or maybe it’s some elite private school. </p><p>He wonders if he’s a good student, or if his parents just have a lot of money. Fuck, he has no idea what class he’s in. How is he supposed to get through his classes when he can’t even find his classroom? What if he doesn’t remember anything he’s learning about? </p><p>He read the name of the school, he knows how to read at least. But that doesn’t say much about what information he’s retained. </p><p>Wow, he’s seriously panicking about this. Maybe he’s the kind of person who cares a lot about school? That would make sense. He feels a bit of pride, having possibly figured something out about himself. Baby steps, right?</p><p>So. He’s a middle school student, he can read Japanese, and he cares about his schoolwork. That’s three things he knows, and it’s only been like forty minutes since he first woke up, most of it spent on the ground. </p><p>He still doesn’t know his name. Or what he looks like. </p><p>Wait, he can solve that last thing. He finds a bathroom as quickly as he can, and looks into the mirror. The reflection facing him has strawberry blond hair, bright purple eyes, and a neutral expression. He feels for his hair, looking upwards and noticing the blond color. He makes a few faces, and his reflection follows suit. </p><p>This isn’t so bad. Blond and purple wasn’t what he was imagining, sure, but it’s a nice combination. He’s rather pretty, actually. </p><p>He steps out of the bathroom and picks a direction, because he has no idea where he’s going. At least there should still be time before school starts, and he can figure it out then. He picks a bench and sits down, determined to find out more about himself.</p><p>There’s a laptop in here, which is nice, except it has a password, and he doesn’t remember that. There are lots of notes put in neat little folders, which should help. No map or class schedule. Apparently he doesn’t need something like that to remember those things. Bummer.</p><p>His phone is also in his bag, and as it turns out, all he has to do is press his thumb to it and it unlocks, which is a relief. There are study apps and music apps and some social media apps (at least he’s pretty sure they’re social media). There’s also a texting app. He opens that one up first. </p><p>“<b>Ren</b>” is the first chat name he sees, so he opens it. There’s talk about the homework for today (he finds that in his bag), something about student council, which he assumes he’s on, and a selfie Ren took of him with a dog. Ren looks about his age, with an interesting haircut. If they have the same homework, they might have the same class. </p><p>From the texts, it looks like he’s friends with this person, even if he doesn’t remember sending any of them. His texts are so eloquent compared to Ren’s, with proper spelling and everything. Does that mean he talks that way as well?</p><p>Either way, this might be his ticket to making it to class on time without embarrassing himself.</p><p>“<b>Meet you at the school entrance? We can walk to class together.</b>” He texts, and hopes that Ren will respond, and that he won’t notice something’s up.</p><p>“<b>Dude, your already there? Yea sure, I’ll meet you inside</b>” Ren sends back, almost immediately. He lets out a breath. This is fine. He can make it to class now without getting hopelessly lost.  </p><p>There’s a security guard in the hall who nods his head as he passes. “Asano.”</p><p><i>Is that his name?</i> There’s no one else around, the guard must be talking to him. </p><p><i>Asano</i>. It sounds like a last name, but he can’t be totally sure. He thinks it’s a last name, anyways. He’s probably not on a first name basis with this man like he is with Ren. Asano. It’s not a bad name. </p><p>Figuring he must’ve at least spoken to the guard a few times for the man to recognize him, Asano nods his head back and continues forwards.</p><p>He has a name now. Or part of a name at least. Still, that’s more progress! He can do this. </p><p>He waits near the entrance, looking over what he hopes is his homework, when other students start walking in. Asano’s quick to notice that many of them are acknowledging him specifically. Is he popular? He wonders what he’s so well known for. Ren mentioned the student council in his texts, maybe people know about him for that.</p><p>Eventually, the boy from the selfie walks in, and Asano perks up as they lock eyes. Ren immediately makes his way over, and Asano stands up to meet him. </p><p>“What were you doing here this early in the morning?” Ren asks curiously, as the two of them fall into step, heading towards their class. Or rather, Asano is following Ren and hoping it doesn’t look like he has no clue where he’s going.</p><p>“Oh, you know,” Asano answers vaguely. “Getting some extra work done.” He seems like he’s a diligent guy who cares about his studies. That’s a suitable answer, right? </p><p>Ren shakes his head, but he doesn’t look disbelieving. “Figures. You need to get more sleep, you know. I’ve read multiple studies about how lack of sleep is bad for your grades, no matter what your dad says.”</p><p>Asano has no idea what his dad says, but Ren’s clearly met his dad. Knowing he has a dad at all is pretty cool, actually. Does he also have a mom? He wonders if his dad is a good parent, and if he’ll notice Asano doesn’t remember being his son.</p><p>Also, why would his dad say he shouldn’t get more sleep? Is that normal for parents? </p><p>“I’ll manage,” he says, because he doesn’t remember studying, so how much sleep he got last night won’t make a difference. Ren just shakes his head again, but it looks like Asano’s still in line with what he usually does. </p><p>By the time they make it to the classroom, Asano’s feeling pretty good. He’s survived the morning without anyone knowing about his lack of memories, and now all he has to do is sit for class and try to keep up. He’s sure no one will figure it out then, they’ll be too focused on their own work.</p><p>And then he might have after school activities, which he doesn’t know about yet. He’ll need to talk with his classmates, who he doesn’t remember. And then he’ll need to go home, the whereabouts of which he’s totally blanking on. </p><p>...This is going to be a long day.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Next up: Meeting the other virtuosos, Student Council Shenanigans, and a meeting with the principal, who Gakushuu doesn't yet know is his dad. Should be fun!</p><p>Hope you enjoyed, and please review, let me know what you think!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It doesn’t take long for Asano to reach the conclusion that he  must be at least moderately popular, because everyone already in his class looks at him and Ren as they enter, and most of those eyes are on him. People are smiling and waving at him, and this would be more of a nice thing if he could remember any of their names, but he’s sure it’ll be fine.</p><p>Asano nods politely back at everyone, and no one looks weirded out by this, which means he must usually be polite. That’s not so bad. If he’s polite with everyone, there’s less of a chance they’ll notice he’s acting strange, after all. </p><p>There are three other boys that go sit with Asano and Ren as soon as they enter the room, and the way they seem to settle down, Asano can guess that these are other friends of his, or at least acquaintances.  </p><p>“You’re here early,” the green haired one with glasses says to Ren. “Usually you’re one of the last in class to arrive.” As if on cue, Ren lets out a rather long yawn.</p><p>“Yeah, and usually Asano’s not here at like, dawn, but here we are.” They all look at him, and Asano shrugs.</p><p>“It wasn’t dawn.” Or, if he was here at dawn, he doesn’t remember it. “I had stuff to do. It was easier to do at school. That’s all.” This is clearly the expected response, from the exasperated looks he receives in return.</p><p>“You do need to sleep, you know,” Green says. “I know you like to act like you can power on through anything but you do have a human body.” </p><p>“Sleep is for the weak, though,” the other glasses kid says, and the third kid hits him on the back of the head, rolling his eyes. </p><p>Asano feels a small smile slip onto his face. “I’ll take it under advisement.” Apparently he’s a workaholic, which is another new thing he now knows about. Every new tidbit he gets is exciting. It feels kinda like a puzzle he needs to piece together. </p><p>“That’s what they always say!” A girl passing them on her way to her seat calls out. </p><p>“Shut up, Kanada!” Glasses fires back. </p><p>“I’m just saying.” </p><p>Asano decides that his classmates must not be so bad.</p>
<hr/><p>School actually flies by relatively quickly, thankfully, especially once Asano discovers that he does in fact know all the material being presented to him. When he needs to search for the knowledge to answer a question, it’s right there. </p><p>He doesn’t remember where or when he learned any of this, and that’s pretty unsettling, but he tries not to let it show. He’s not going to fail his classes from lack of memory anytime soon, and that’s some good news right there. Asano knows he needs all the good news he can get at the moment.</p><p>And hey, focusing on school work turns out to be a good way to drown out the ever growing panic in the back of his mind! So that’s a bonus. (God this is so fucked up, his memory is <i>gone</i>-)</p><p>He spends lunch with Ren and the other boys, as well as a few more of their classmates, and finally learns some names. Green hair is Araki, Glasses is Koyama, and the third boy is Seo. Apparently the five of them hang out a lot, and are called the Virtuosos? Asano doesn’t get that last part, but he assumes it’s some silly nickname they came up with a long time ago that stuck. That’s something friends might do, right? </p><p>And when class is finally, <i>finally</i> out, then then they have the student council meeting. Asano’s not sure if he wants it to go by quickly or take hours, because either way he needs to find his house when it’s done. </p><p>“I was wondering,” Ren says, when they enter the meeting room, “Why aren’t you wearing your arm band today?”</p><p>“Hm?” He’s usually wearing an armband? That’s news to him. He wasn’t wearing one when he woke up, and there wasn’t one in his bag. </p><p>Ren shrugs. “Not that you need it. It’s not like people will forget you’re student council president without it. I was just curious, since you usually wear it.”</p><p>He’s student council president. </p><p>Okay. This is fine. He can work with this. So maybe he’s more than just some diligent studier, but that’s alright. That’s more information about himself, at least. </p><p>(Shit, is he supposed to <i>lead</i> this meeting? How the fuck is he going to do that?)</p><p>Asano tries for a frown. “I… may have forgotten it at home this morning. I was hoping no one would mention it.”</p><p>Ren snickers a bit. “Seriously, you forgot? <i>You</i> forgot something like this?”</p><p>“Laugh it up.” Ren does so, and Asano lets out a sigh. Okay. He’s doing okay so far. They still believe him. He’s almost made it through the day.</p><p>He pulls out the folder in his bag that he hadn’t managed to take a look at yet, and sneaks a glance at what he hopes are his notes on today’s meeting topics nestled in one of the sides. There’s something about an upcoming sports festival. Excellent, he can work with that. </p><p>As everyone gets settled they all turn to him, and it’s fine, he can do this. It’s not like everyone might realize he doesn’t know who they are or anything if he slips up. </p><p>Asano’s pretty sure he’s not the kind of person to take a sick day off, otherwise he would have claimed feeling ill already and tried to find his way home, but right now he kind of wishes he was. </p><p>He stands and clears his throat. “Right. I was thinking we could start with discussions about the sports festival, and what we have planned.” He’s relieved to see heads nodding. As quick as he can, he looks down at his notes. “Kondo, you had ideas?”</p><p>With that, the boy who Asano assumes is Kondo starts, and Asano sits down. They go through the different activities, agreeing or vetoing things based on what he’s written in his notes. He tries not to look at them too much though, because while he knows he wrote them, he doesn’t remember doing it, and that’s still a little hard to process. </p><p>When the meeting is finally over, he gets up to leave, and Ren is right next to him, frowning slightly. “Are you alright? You’ve been kind of off all day.” Asano can feel himself tensing up at the question.</p><p>Of course he’s not doing a perfect job of pretending he’s fine. That’s probably impossible. But he’s quickly figured out that he’s a stubborn person, and he refuses to be exposed this quickly. </p><p>“My head’s been hurting a bit all day,” he admits, which is true.</p><p>“From soccer yesterday? You did get hit pretty hard.” Asano nods. He’s pretty sure a hit during soccer didn’t cause his memory loss, but it is a convenient excuse as to why he’s not at a hundred percent. </p><p>“Asano!” Araki jogs over to them, looking worried. “The principal wants to see you.” Asano can see Ren wincing. </p><p><i>This shouldn’t be too bad</i>, he thinks. It’s not like the school principal would know him well enough to know that something’s wrong. </p><p>Ren looks really nervous, though. “Are you sure you’ll be alright?”</p><p><i>Why wouldn’t I? What’s so scary about the principal?</i> “I’ll be fine,” he says. “I can handle the principal.” Araki scoffs softly in front of them.</p><p>Ren just shakes his head. “Yeah, I know.” He doesn’t sound very happy or reassured. “I’ll wait for you outside, alright?”</p><p>“Good luck in the Lion’s Den,” Araki adds. </p><p>“Yeah, of course.” It’s just a meeting with the school principal. Probably about this festival coming up. Even if the principal is intimidating, he should be fine. </p><p>...He has no idea how to get to the principal’s office.</p>
<hr/><p>In the end, Asano’s only a couple minutes late, which does kind of bug him, but probably can’t be helped. The maps in this school are way too confusing. He stands in front of the principal’s office, knocks, and hears a voice say “Enter”.</p><p>The room is really dark, like all the lighting is broken, even though everything seems so modern. It’s also really barren, to the extent of being a bit creepy. In the center is the principal’s desk, and the man himself sits behind it, holding a basketball. </p><p>Asano can make out blondish hair and purple eyes. Just like him. Are they related, somehow? He does get the feeling purple and blond is an usual combination in Japan. </p><p>“Asano. You’re late.” The principal sounds cordial, but there’s a cold undertone in his voice. And he’s calling Asano by his last name. He wouldn’t do that if they were related, right? </p><p>“I’m sorry Sir, I got caught up,” he says back, because what else is he supposed to say? Wait, if they are related, he’s totally just outed himself by calling the man ‘Sir.’ Fuck. He tries not to let this swell of panic show.</p><p>“Hm.” The man’s lip seems to curl, as if amused or disappointed, and something churns uncomfortably in Asano’s gut. “And how is A Class coming along in their studies? Of course, you should know by now that “poorly” isn’t an option.” </p><p><i>What a nice, encouraging, principal.</i> And the fact that he treated Asano calling him ‘Sir’ as though it were normal pretty much confirms that they’re not related, which is a little comforting. Still, Asano thinks about how his classmates were doing today, and how the student council meeting went. “Quite smoothly. Everyone is keeping up well, and I haven’t seen anyone lagging behind.” Obviously, because it’s not like he knew he should’ve been paying attention to something like that.</p><p>“How encouraging.” And oh, that’s definitely a sneer right there. “Keep up that good work then. We wouldn’t want a repeat of A Class’ poor performance on the finals under you, now would we?”</p><p>Why Asano of all people is the reason his class did poorly is beyond him. He’s literally a student here, shouldn’t that be the teacher’s fault? He can see why Ren and Araki were nervous, this guy is a real ass. </p><p>“Things will be different this time,” he says as pleasantly as possible, and wonders just what it would take to ruin the principal’s day. </p><p><i>Oh wow, those are some vicious thoughts</i>. They must have some sort of history, then. </p><p>“See to it that things are,” the principal says, and Asano considers how messed up it is that this guy called him up here seemingly just to insult and intimidate him, because he goes on a bit of a tirade afterwards about how the strong can easily fall to the weak, and it is their job to push the weak down, and Asano spends that time tuning out and wondering what is dad is like past what Ren mentioned at the beginning of the day. It would be nice to know, since he’ll probably be facing the man soon.</p>
<hr/><p>Ren still looks worried when Asano gets out. “Gakushuu? You alright?”</p><p><i>Gakushuu</i>. That, <i>that</i> is his first name. <i>Finally</i>. And it sounds just right, too.</p><p>His name is Asano Gakushuu, he still has all his knowledge, just not the memories to go with it, he’s the student council president, he’s a workaholic who forgoes sleep to study, and he’s pretty sure the principal is his petty nemesis, for some reason. That’s a lot of things to have figured out today.</p><p>“I’m fine,” Gakushuu says. “It wasn’t so bad.”</p><p>Ren looks him over skeptically. “If you say so.”</p><p>They part ways, and Gakushuu takes a deep breath, feeling the underlining panic subside ever so slightly. He did it. He made it through the day. Considering he started with pretty much nothing this morning, that’s an accomplishment. Things will be fine.</p><p>Now he just needs to find his way home.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The Asanos might be the only family where the amnesiac kid could go have a conversation with their dad and come out of it still knowing neither their first name nor that fact that that was in fact their dad, and that's just fun. </p><p>I hope you enjoyed, and please leave a review, let me know what you liked!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Gakushuu goes home. It's not very pleasant.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Thank god for Google Maps, as it turns out. Gakushuu’s not sure what he would’ve done without that. When he checks, he already has “<b>home</b>” listed in the options, so he starts it up and boom, he’s not going to get lost. </p>
<p>Small mercies, really. And it’s a nice calm walk to his house, which isn’t too far away. </p>
<p>Then he reaches the address and does a double take, because <i>is this really his house?</i> It’s massive, modern, and fancy. It’s a rich person’s house. Sure, he goes to a private school, but after everything he found out, Gakushuu was assuming he’s there for the studying and education. Turns out that might be just part of it. </p>
<p>It’s cool though, right? Who couldn’t want to find out they’re rich, right? Maybe he gets a lot of allowance, or something. </p>
<p>So what’s with the uncomfortable feeling building in his gut? </p>
<p>Gakushuu checks his phone again. This is “Home”. He didn’t get that wrong. So either he’s naturally worried about how his amnesia will affect his interactions with the family he can’t remember, or there’s something about his house that already made him uncomfortable before he lost his memory.</p>
<p>Either way, he can’t just stand outside forever. If things go south, he can always bail, and Ren seems like the kind of person who might pick him up if he said it was an emergency. He’s glad he has a friend like that, even if he can’t remember right now. </p>
<p>Gakushuu takes a deep breath and heads past the gate, then fishes out the keychain from his bag and tries keys until the third one fits in and unlocks the door. He slips inside.</p>
<p>The inside is just as nice and well kept as the outside. All the furniture looks really comfortable, and the electronics seem state of the art. The TV Gakushuu sees in the living room is massive and clearly high definition. The kitchen is super high end, the pantries stocked with just about everything. Feeling hungry all of a sudden, Gakushuu decides to try and make himself a snack, and is pleasantly surprised to find that he has more than a little bit of skill with cooking. </p>
<p>Still, as comfortable and luxurious as this house is, there’s something that feels wrong with it. </p>
<p>Keeping his book bag with him just in case, and eating his snack on the go, Gakushuu goes exploring, hoping to find his room. He finds what must be the master bedroom, and a few spare bedrooms, some covered with trophies, but nothing that stands out as his so far. At least if the spare rooms are all this nice, his room should be nice as well.</p>
<p>After running through all the rooms and not finding one that looks like his bedroom, Gakushuu doubles back to the spare rooms, and sure enough, in one of the rooms he had passed already, there are some workbooks that look like their currently in use. Further exploration of the room confirms that this is his.</p>
<p>He had no idea the first time around. Sure, the trophies in here must be his, and he can see many more books put neatly away now that he’s looking closer, but upon first glance Gakushuu couldn’t tell that anyone used this room regularly.</p>
<p>It’s so… impersonal.</p>
<p><i>That’s what’s wrong with this house</i>, he realizes. There are very few pictures on the walls, no drawings on the fridge, no souvenirs from trips or cute collections of seashells or rocks or whatever. It feels like a model for sale, not a place anyone really lives in. </p>
<p>Something uncomfortable swells in his chest. How is he supposed to learn more about himself in a place like this?</p>
<p>What kind of home life does Gakushuu have?</p>
<p>He really should start on his homework, but he can’t help but thoroughly search his room, feeling a little desperate for <i>anything</i> personal other than schoolwork. Sure, he cares about that, but that can’t be all he ever does, right? </p>
<p>There’s an electric guitar in the closet, looking both used and well kept. Gakushuu hooks it up and plays a few chords, feeling his hands naturally fall into the right positions. It’s really cool, actually, knowing how to play the electric guitar, so he plays a bit more, letting instinct guide him. </p>
<p>It’s not like he’s bothering anyone. Clearly his parents aren’t home, or he would’ve seen them at some point. </p>
<p>There’s a soccer ball and a basketball tucked away. He knows from earlier that he plays soccer, but it seems like he might play basketball as well. Or maybe it’s just a hobby of his? Gakushuu wonders if he’s any good. </p>
<p>But other than the sports balls, the guitar and sheet music, the school books, and the massive amounts of trophies, there’s nothing else to signify what he does in his freetime. The walls are blank and white, the comforter is a single color with no decoration, there aren’t any post-it notes or stamps or other things that come to mind when Gakushuu tries to imagine how a teenager’s room might look like. </p>
<p>It’s honestly a bit depressing when he thinks about it. </p>
<p>He’s about to stop searching when he finds a loose board in the back of his closet. Feeling a little excited, he pries it away, and behind it are the things he was really looking for. Science fiction books, pictures of him with Ren and his other classmates, a cute stuffed tiger, quick semi-decent sketches of landscapes. </p>
<p>A stash of non-perishable food, carefully separated and hidden wads of cash, addresses labeled under emergencies. </p>
<p>The uncomfortable feeling in Gakushuu’s gut is back, and stronger than before. This isn’t normal. Normal kids don’t hide these things away. </p>
<p>It’s such a contrast, the blank walls and countless trophies versus the pinned up photos and mediocre drawings that feel like they matter more than any first place medal, because they’re clearly his. </p>
<p><i>This whole situation is kinda fucked up</i>, Gakushuu decides, hiding the stash of Things once again and finally taking out his homework. Considering how eager he’s been to rediscover his life today, it’s a bit of a let down. </p>
<p>He’s long finished with his homework when someone else enters the house. Gakushuu’s earlier eagerness to meet his parents has been tempered greatly by what he’s found out, but he’s still curious, so he slips down the stairs, noting that his footsteps are naturally quiet. </p>
<p>He catches a glimpse.</p>
<p>It’s. It is.</p>
<p>It is the principal. </p>
<p>What the fuck. </p>
<p>“I know you’re there, Asano,” Principal says, and Gakushuu silently curses. This explains a lot. He had noticed that they had looked similar, but the principal (his dad?) had been so formal and spiteful Gakushuu had dismissed the idea. </p>
<p>But. He did seem like the type of person Gakushuu would want to hide his interests from. And he calls him Asano in their own home. Is his name not Asano as well? What?? </p>
<p>Gakushuu steps out into the open, and comes face to face with Principal’s still condescending expression. Because that’s an expression a father should give their kid. What the fuck? And apparently his dad blames him for his class doing poorly on the finals and threatens him in his office? <i>What the actual fuck.</i> </p>
<p>They just stare at each other for a long awkward moment, neither wanting to look away first. This is ridiculous. Gakushuu is weirdly determined to beat him at this asinine competition. <i>Oh, that’s a good word. At least he’s still got his range of vocabulary. </i></p>
<p>“You were so late to our meeting today, I thought something might be wrong,” his (dad? Father? He’ll go with father for now, it’s less personal) finally says. “I don’t suppose the stress of trying to be the best is finally getting to you. That would be so disappointing, especially from my own son.”</p>
<p>So. This really is his father. This.</p>
<p>No, this is not okay, <i>what the fuck!?</i></p>
<p>“I was a few minutes late at most,” Gakushuu nearly snaps. “God, imagine that. Being a few minutes late. How terrible! Clearly this means I’ve lost my grip on the top and will now fade into obscurity. Oh, woe is me-”</p>
<p>“Watch your tone,” his father says, and that tone shuts Gakushuu up on instinct. The feeling, the uncomfortable feeling, he knows what it is now. It’s fear. “After your poor performance during finals, losing that silly bet while trying to uncover my nonexistent secrets, your standing above your peers is on thin ice. I’d be more careful, if I were you. If you don’t take action soon, you really will lose your grip.” </p>
<p>Gakushuu almost snarks back that it’s far more of his father’s fault than his, what with him being the actual teacher and all, but his breath is still gone. “I’ll keep that under consideration,” he says stiffly, and hates himself a little bit. </p>
<p>The principal smirks. “See to it that you do,” and he walks right past him. </p>
<p>Gakushuu thinks about the stashes of food and money and emergency address hidden in his room. </p>
<p>He could run, he thinks. It wouldn’t be out of character, from what he saw. Clearly pre-amnesia him had considered it. He’s sure Ren would take him in, and maybe the other boys he’s friends with as well. </p>
<p>But he’s only been home a few hours. Maybe he should give it some time first? If nothing else, it will ease suspicion. His father clearly doesn’t know about his memory loss. If he runs now, the man might piece it together. Maybe. Or, more likely, his friends would. </p>
<p>Gakushuu idly wonders what would happen if he spiced up his room a bit more, gave it more of a personal touch. Would his father be angry? The hidden stash of Things feels like a small rebellion, so probably. </p>
<p>But they already don’t get along, so it wouldn’t be too out of nowhere. On the other hand, if he provokes the man more, he might not be able to run later. </p>
<p>Gakushuu decides to wait and see. He’ll give this home and relationship a bit more time, and if it gets worse, he’ll leave. He doesn’t want to just up and abandon what he has. </p>
<p>He really doesn’t want to torture himself by staying either.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Gakushuu, pointing at his relationship with Gakuhou: What the fuck is this?? Why am I doing this??</p>
<p>Usually Gakushuu is portrayed as having no interests outside of the hobbies he's been forced into, and I usually write him that way as well. I wanted to go for a bit of a different approach this time. Here, Gakushuu's got his own interests that Gakuhou wouldn't approve of, like Science Fiction, and things he enjoys doing but is mediocre at, like drawing. He's just extremely good at hiding those things, like many abused kids are. He's also self aware enough to hide away and store up cash, "just in case". </p>
<p>And a Gakushuu with no memory and therefore connection with his father has no reason to play Gakuhou's games. Without context, he just thinks it's all bullshit(and he's right!)</p>
<p>Don't worry, fun shenanigans will resume next chapter!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>His father’s name is Asano Gakuhou. He started Kunugigaoka Junior High School ten years ago, and it quickly rose to prominence as one of the top middle schools in the country, to the point where parents already thinking about college want to send their kids there. He’s become extremely rich, from both his school, as well as extremely good investments.</p>
<p>That explains a bit about the school, and why Gakushuu is going there. He hopes he’s not student council president due to nepotism, but considering his study habits and what seems to be good popularity among his class, that’s probably not the case. </p>
<p>So, in short, his father is also named Asano, and still calls Gakushuu by his last name. What a freak. </p>
<p>Breakfast the next morning goes by without a word from either of them, and Gakushuu does his best to not look uncomfortable at this. It makes a little sense? He’d thought the principal wouldn’t waste any time that he could be insulting Gakushuu, after yesterday. The newspaper must be more important than that. </p>
<p>His father has someone drive him to school while Gakushuu walks, which is even less unexpected but still <i>so very petty</i>. It’s almost laughable. </p>
<p>He’s a lot more collected today, and he did spend his time studying, so classes are still coming easy to him. After a few bumps in the halls, Gakushuu figures out that just being calm, collected, and polite to everyone is how he normally acts, and can go about his day without the other students suspecting. </p>
<p>And his friends are pretty neat too, especially Ren. </p>
<p>Save for the fact that he notices more than most, of course.</p>
<p>“Are you sure you’re okay?” Ren asks, in between classes. “You still seem kinda off. Was it your talk with the principal?”</p>
<p>“No, that was about average.” From what Gakushuu has summarized, of course. “Heads still aching a bit, unfortunately. It should go away soon.” As soon as he gets a better grip on acting as himself. Hopefully no one will be suspicious by then.</p>
<p>Ren looks uncertain. “It’s still hurting? Did you get a concussion? I didn’t realize it was that bad.”</p>
<p>Gakushuu shrugs. “Does it matter? I have to shrug it off anyways. I can still do all my schoolwork. And it’s not that bad.” He has to put in real effort to keep a straight face at the sigh Ren lets out. </p>
<p>“Just do me a favor and call out of soccer practice for the week, alright?” He says. “Just get some rest this once. If you do have a concussion, that can be really bad.”</p>
<p><i>Worse than amnesia?</i> “I’ll consider it, Gakushuu says, just like yesterday. That seems to be his natural go to response to concerns about his well being. </p>
<p>“I really can’t expect more, can I?” Ren says dryly. Gakushuu feels a little bad, but considering what he’s learned so far…</p>
<p>“You really can’t.”</p>
<hr/>
<p>He’s walking out of the campus when someone crashes into him from the side. Gakushuu catches himself easily, but the other boy is holding a stack of books and goes tumbling. The books themselves go flying.</p>
<p>Gakushuu gets down to help the boy pick everything up. “I’m so sorry, I should’ve been watching where I was going-” he’s saying. </p>
<p>Since everyone seems to think of Gakushuu as polite, he supposes a polite response will be good here. “It’s no problem,” he assures him. “I should’ve been watching myself as well.” </p>
<p>The dark haired boy looks at him blankly, and too late, Gakushuu wonders if there’s something different here, but he’s in too deep to change tactics now, so he goes for a smile and offers the last book. “Are you alright?”</p>
<p>“Am I?” The boy blinks. Then shakes his head, then blinks again. “Y-Yeah, I’m fine. Thank you for helping, you didn’t need to.” </p>
<p>“It’s fine, I mean I might as well, it's not like I’m doing anything else and you were on the ground.” <i>Right</i>. He has no idea what he’s going to say at this point, and from the looks of it, neither does the other boy. He awkwardly starts in the direction of the nearest campus exit, but it turns out the other boy is going there as well, so they just sort of fall into step with each other. </p>
<p>“A bigger bookbag might help with all of those,” he points out lightly, just to make some sort of conversation.</p>
<p>“Yeah.” The boy’s smile is kind of sad. “It would, but, you know. Other, more important things to buy right now.”</p>
<p><i>Oh</i>. “I’m sorry,” Gakushuu says genuinely. He did get pretty lucky in the whole wealth aspect of his home life, even if the rest of it isn’t so great. And if the kid doesn’t have that much money, that means he got into this elite school by his own merit, which is pretty neat. </p>
<p>“It’s fine. It’s not your fault.” The boy gives him a small smile. “Are you alright, though? I mean, you usually don’t talk to us unless it’s, you know.”</p>
<p>Gakushuu doesn’t know. Who is it he doesn’t talk to? The only odd ones out in Kunugigaoka he can think of is 3-E who go to school on the mountain, but other than that, he comes up with nothing. And even with that one odd class, they just have low grades, from what he could find when looking the school up. There didn’t seem to be anything special about them besides that. </p>
<p>“First time for everything,” he offers. “And like I said, you were on the ground, and I’m not heartless.” This might be thin ice he’s treading on, because he has no idea how he interacts with this guy, just that his usual polite act isn’t it. </p>
<p>“I didn’t mean to imply you were, of course you aren’t!” At least Gakushuu’s not the only one clearly feeling awkward.</p>
<p>He glances down at the other boy’s bag, and spots the name “<i>Isogai Yuma</i>” on one of the folders. At least he has a name now.</p>
<p>They reach a fork in the road, and Isogai gives him one last awkward smile. “Um. Take care of yourself.”</p>
<p>“You as well,” Gakushuu tells him. “Have a safe walk home. Try not to crash into anyone else.” Isogai lets out a startled laugh. </p>
<p><i>All things considered</i>, he thinks, <i>that could’ve gone a lot worse. And at least he was friendly, so whatever reason I didn’t act the same around him must not have been that big of a deal</i>. </p>
<p>Now back to google maps, because he’s pretty sure he’s lost again.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Gakushuu: Alright, I've got the hang of this!</p>
<p>Also Gakushuu: <i>No I don't no I don't no I don't-</i></p>
<p>Hope you all enjoyed, and please leave a review, let me know what you think!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Gakushuu has several chats and emerges confused from all of them.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Gakushuu hasn’t been to many places. He’s been at school, at home, at soccer and basketball, and that’s about it so far. He decides that he should liven things up a bit, especially now that everything for the sports festival has been set in stone. </p>
<p>There’s a small restaurant that gets lots of good reviews, so Gakushuu decides to go there. </p>
<p>It’s light and airy, and everyone there seems to be having a decent meal, so Gakushuu gets seated and starts looking over the menu. He hasn’t tried either coffee or tea since waking up a few days ago, so maybe he should get one of those? And the scones look really good as well. </p>
<p>He hasn’t tried a lot of this food, actually. Maybe he should just order a ton of stuff.</p>
<p>He looks up to see if a waiter is nearby and then-</p>
<p>Pauses-</p>
<p>Blinks. Blinks again. </p>
<p><i>That</i>. That is a giant round head with a wig on top. </p>
<p>And not just like a normal size head that’s unusually round. That head might be able to fit three normal heads inside it. What. </p>
<p>It has cream colored skin, but, like. It’s a giant head. The mouth is pretty inhuman as well, an unchanging smile showing all teeth, a Cheshire grin right out of a cartoon or something. <i>Is it? He hasn’t exactly watched cartoons since he woke up either. </i></p>
<p>The thing lifts its cup to its mouth using - that’s a tentacle. Okay. Sure. </p>
<p>Gakushuu looks around. No one else seems to have noticed the thing, or at least they clearly don’t care about it.</p>
<p>Is he missing something? When it comes to pretty much everything but his personal life, all the details seem to fill in nicely. But he’s totally lost here. He’s got no clue what’s going on, or what that thing is. But no one else is bothered by it?</p>
<p>Maybe it really is just some normal thing, and there’s no need to be worked up over it. It’s not like Gakushuu would know. All the evidence seems to point to that being the case, so in the end Gakushuu mentally shrugs and looks for a waiter again.</p>
<p>“Hello! Can I get your ord-” The familiar voice cuts off, and Gakushuu turns to see Isogai looking at him with a rather surprised expression, like a kid who’s been caught with their hand in the cookie jar (if that’s the right expression. He’s got the feeling they never had any cookie jars at his house). </p>
<p>This. Is the person he has no idea how to interact with. </p>
<p>Gakushuu blinks up at him neutrally(blankly). Isogai stares right on back. They stay this way for a full two minutes.</p>
<p>“Um,” Isogai finally manages to say. “Can. Can I take your order?”</p>
<p>“Yes please.” Feeling more than a little embarrassed and very willing to move the conversation onwards, Gakushuu looks at his menu again. “The reviews said that the green tea here was really good, so I think I’ll have a cup of that.”</p>
<p>“Of course,” Isogai says faintly. “The green tea here is excellent. Are you interested in food as well?”</p>
<p>“Yes, I was thinking of getting the jelly pastries.” The more he talks, the easier it is to keep his voice and expression even. “Are they any good?”</p>
<p>Isogai nods. “Yes, those are always very good.” He smiles politely, looking relieved, for some reason. “Is there anything else?”</p>
<p>“No, I think that’s it for now. Thank you.” Gakushuu hands him the menu, and Isogai hurries off. </p>
<p>As soon as the other boy is gone, he puts his face in his hands and muffles his frustrated noises. </p>
<p>The tea and pastries are in fact very good, and things go a lot smoother during the rest of his time in the café. Eventually, the strange creature leaves, and Gakushuu pretends that he’s not watching them go. If everyone thinks the guy is normal, then watching them is probably rude.</p>
<p>Isogai does catch him on his way out though. “Um, Asano?” Gakushuu stops and turns to look at him. Isogai rubs the back of his head. “I wanted to say thank you. For the last time we met, when you helped me, and for being cool today. I won’t be working here long, we just really need the money right now.”</p>
<p>Gakushuu does remember Isogai’s comments on money the other day. “Of course. It’s not a huge deal.”</p>
<p>Isogai beams. Gakushuu has the sudden and strange sensation of feeling like he’s staring at the sun.</p>
<hr/>
<p>“Did you know? There are rumors that Isogai from E Class has a part time job,” Araki says at lunch, while they’re looking over their notes.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Gakushuu agrees absentmindedly. “I’ve been there. They serve good tea.” </p>
<p>His friends all stare at him. He looks right on back. </p>
<p>Araki shrugs. “Well, if you’ve got it all handled, then I guess it’s fine.”</p>
<p>“Of course.” Gakushuu is definitely missing something here.</p>
<hr/>
<p>So, as it turns out, Kunugigaoka kids aren’t allowed to have part time jobs. Who knew? </p>
<p>Gakushuu decides not to rat Isogai out anyways. He seems like a really nice kid, and he probably does need the money. At least he knows why Isogai was giving him that explanation now.</p>
<hr/>
<p>“You’ll be competing against E Class in pole topping,” Father says the next day, when Gakushuu is in his office.</p>
<p>Gakushuu frowns. “Might I ask why, Sir?”</p>
<p>The principal raises an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t it be obvious? I thought, after our last conversation, you would take my advice to heart and challenge them yourself, but you seem to have lost your initiative. Due to your sudden incompetence, I will be helping you out, just this once.” </p>
<p>He says this like pitting the two classes against each other is somehow helping Gakushuu out. E Class has to go up that mountain every day, he’s pretty sure they’re all a lot more athletic than most of his classmates. </p>
<p>“Isn’t this a bit sudden? You’re not leaving me much time to prepare,” he tries.</p>
<p>“You shouldn’t need that much time. This is more than enough,” his father counters. “If you’re so desperate, why don’t you invite your foreign friends? I’m sure they’d be happy to compete with you, if your connections with them is all you’ve made them out to be.”</p>
<p>This is absolutely ridiculous. Gakushuu doesn’t want to play pole topping because his father has some sort of vicarious complex when it comes to fighting kids, or whatever. </p>
<p>Gakushuu’s still afraid of him. </p>
<p>“Of course,” he finally says. “I can do that.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And so the saga of Gakushuu bsing his way through multiple conversations continues. </p>
<p>Isogai: He seemed kind of standoffish after finals but maybe he's better when you get to know him.</p>
<p>The Virtuosos: If he's not bothered by Isogai having a part time job, clearly he's already got a plan in place.</p>
<p>Gakushuu: What is going on??</p>
<p>Hope you enjoyed, and please don't forget to leave a review, let me know what you think!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The preparations for the sports festival come to a conclusion.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Gakushuu does end up inviting the exchange students to come and play with them, because he can’t help but be curious. Clearly he had kept in touch with the four of them before losing his memory, by interacting with them more, he might be able to learn even more about himself. </p><p>The way they all quickly affirmed that they would come was a positive sign, at least. </p><p>All four of them are massive for fifteen year olds, which does make sense considering they’re all top in their chosen sport. Camille is an ace French wrestler who’s apparently gaining renown around his country. Sang Hyuk is doing the same in Korea, with basketball. Jose is the son of a famous Brazilian fighter, and Kevin is already being considered by colleges as an American Freshman in football.</p><p>Despite their burly looks though, they all seem to be genuinely nice people. Jose doesn’t seem to like Koyama much, but other than that, they get along with everyone in A Class. </p><p>“It’s cool that you invited us to play with you for this,” Kevin says in English. Gakushuu knows by now that he’s fluent in English, so it isn’t a big shock that he can completely understand him.</p><p>He smiles. “I thought it would be nice. The competition itself isn’t that big of a deal, of course,” even if his father seemed to think so, “But it’s always nice to get the chance to work with you all.” </p><p>“A charmer as always,” Camille laughs, speaking quickly in French.</p><p>“I’ll take that as a complement,” Gakushuu answers just as fast in the same language, before taking a moment to comprehend that he’s also apparently fluent in French. </p><p>Well. He’s learning something new about himself every day, isn’t he? He wonders if he can speak Portuguese and Korean just as well as he can English and French. That would be pretty neat. </p><p>“Do we have a strategy for this?” Ren wonders. “I mean, no offense, but besides you and the exchange students, we’re not exactly the fighting types. And if what happened during the baseball game is any indication, 3-E has gotten super athletic.”</p><p>Gakushuu didn’t know there was a baseball game against 3-E, of course, but he’ll take Ren’s word for it. “I was thinking we work simultaneously on offense and defense. We do have strength in numbers, so we can use that.” Most of the class is looking at him now, so he continues. “If it’s alright with them, I think Jose and Sang Hyuk would focus more on offense, as they have the advantage when it comes to taking down opponents - or poles, in this case - and getting around enemy defenses.” </p><p>He looks up at the two boys for confirmation, and to his relief, they both seem pleased. “Makes sense to me,” Sang Hyuk says. </p><p>Gakushuu nods, partly to Sang Hyuk and partly to himself. “Alright then. And since Kevin and Camille both know how to absorb hits and stay steady under pressure, they’ll be focusing on defense, mostly protecting the pole and keeping it straight so it doesn’t go down.” </p><p>“A good plan,” Kevin agrees, in Japanese this time. </p><p>“Right.” Gakushuu has an idea. This might be tricky, but if he can pull it off…</p><p>He looks up at the class. Most of them are looking a bit more excited, but some, especially Ren, look confused. About what, Gakushuu’s not sure, which means he can’t do anything about it. “Tell me, what’s the main thing that gave E Class the edge in the baseball tournament?”</p><p>His classmates look at each other. “They thought outside of the box,” Araki offered. “They bent the rules but didn’t break them, and it forced the baseball team into situations they weren’t prepared for.”</p><p>“Exactly.” <i>Okay, good</i>. Gakushuu had hoped he sounded more like he wanted confirmation of something he already knew, and it seems like they all took it the right way. “Which means if we want to plan effectively, we need to consider that they’ll probably pull some similar tricks.”</p><p>What should they do against a team that’s apparently far more athletic and willing to bend the rules? How can they counter E Class’ advantages?</p><p>Gakushuu’s starting to see the benefits of a competition like this in school. It’s good for exercising the mind, thinking around different situations. Asshole father or not, he’s actually a little excited for this.</p><p>It’s not like pole topping really matters. It’s just an event at a middle school sports festival. It would be nice if they could take this away from the principal, make it fun instead.</p><p>And he doesn’t want to let down his classmates, or the exchange students. They looked kinda down when told they had to go against E Class, and even though none of them asked for this, that doesn’t mean they should be miserable. </p><p>“Alright,” he announces. “Here’s what I’m thinking.”</p>
<hr/><p>The sports festival finally comes around, and Gakushuu gets to see the mysterious E Class in action firsthand for the first time since he can remember. They’re good, extremely good, coming in first place in almost all of the competitions. </p><p>This isn’t just them being good at baseball, this is them all being extremely fit, with excellent balance, sense of distance, and kinetic vision. </p><p>Ren looks equally as surprised. “They weren’t nearly this good back during the tournament,” he admits. “It’s like they’ve had super intense training or something. He looks sideways at Gakushuu. “Are you sure you want to do this? The pole topping thing, I mean.”</p><p>“The principal set it up, it’s not like we have a choice,” Gakushuu points out. “And I did invite those exchange students over for this, it would be pretty rude to send them back now.”</p><p>“Well yeah, I know. That’s not what I - I meant you in particular. Are you sure you’re okay?” Ren looks seriously worried now, and Gakushuu nervously wonders just what has made his friend so on edge about him today. “You’re - when we were planning, you weren’t - weren’t acting like yourself. Telling people not to worry because the competition doesn't matter…” </p><p>Would he not have said that before? But it seemed to fit with his MO, and his dislike of his father, who set this up without their consent, was clearly well known throughout their class. He had thought being dismissive of the principal’s obvious ploys would be the usual for him.</p><p>And it’s not like he can take those words back now, because they’ve already got their plan down and are going to start the match soon. So Gakushuu’s just going to have to lean in on what he already said, even if it’s a bit suspicious. </p><p>“I’m not going to get all worked up over this and feed into my father’s strange fetish of watching kids fight each other,” he finally says, and Ren chokes.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>You all know what's coming next. :)</p><p>Hope you enjoyed, and please leave a review, let me know what you think!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Sports Festival ends, and the aftermath... happens.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The octopus thing is at the sports festival.</p>
<p>Gakushuu notices it as they’re getting ready for the pole topping. The thing’s got a camera, and he’s taking photos of E Class like he’s some sort of proud parent. Is he connected to that class somehow? </p>
<p>Gakushuu wonders if the thing is their teacher. His next thought is that the idea is obviously ridiculous, but then again, how would he know? He’d dismissed the idea of him and the principal being related when he first met the man, after all. And he wouldn’t put anything past the principal. </p>
<p>And still no one else is bothered by this. E Class are the only ones looking at and talking to the thing. Maybe he’s just a regular teacher here. Who is Gakushuu to judge?</p>
<p>As it turns out, Isogai is also in E Class. There’s a brief moment of surprise he feels when he catches the others eye as the poles are being set up. It’s… a little unfortunate, because he doesn’t really want to compete against a guy this nice.</p>
<p>Then again, it’s just a competition. It’s not like there’s actually anything at stake here. </p>
<p>Gakushuu gives him a pleasant smile. “Good luck. I look forward to competing against you.”</p>
<p>“Asano…” Isogai trails off. “Did you set this up?” </p>
<p>Gakushuu blinks. “What? No, of course not. That was the principal. I’d honestly rather not do this at all.” He shrugs. “But that doesn’t matter. I’ll still be trying my hardest, and I hope you will too. No hard feelings?”</p>
<p>It takes Isogai a second to respond, but when he does, he’s smiling that bright smile of his. “Right, that makes sense. Sorry for accusing you of this. We’ll be doing our best as well, so hard feelings.” </p>
<p>Behind him, the octopus is waving his tentacles around and cheering E Class on, calling for them to beat A Class. Whatever makes the thing happy, Gakushuu supposes. It’s not his problem.</p>
<p>He heads over to A Class’ pole. All in good spirits or not, he knows he’s naturally competitive, and he’d really like to win this.</p><hr/>
<p>In the end, the difference between victory and loss is a couple seconds.</p>
<p>It’s a surprisingly brutal fight. Gakushuu is starting to suspect at this point that E Class is professionally trained, for some reason, which would explain why every single one of them is on the same level of skill or higher. </p>
<p>They’ve got their own excellent strategy as well that plays off of what A Class does. If he hadn’t laid out what everyone should be doing if he couldn’t give them new directions, it would’ve been far more of a one-sided fight resulting in Victory for E Class. </p>
<p>Gakushuu also discovers, as the match goes on, that he knows martial arts. When some of the E Class kids are on him, he goes on instinct, flipping them off him and the pole. It’s actually rather exciting, and Gakushuu may have gone a bit overboard once he realized what he could do. Sue him, finding out he’s apparently a martial arts expert is a bit exciting. Being able to launch off someone's hand, do a flip in the air, and land on top of the pole? That's just <i>cool</i>.</p>
<p>Both poles topple at the end of the match. A Class’ pole goes down first though, which means E Class takes the victory.</p>
<p>Gakushuu can’t say he’s not disappointed. But it was so close, and he did end up having a lot of fun, so it really isn’t the end of the world. </p>
<p>“Thank you all for helping our class with this,” he tells the exchange students afterwards. “I know we didn’t win, but I hope you enjoyed it all the same.”</p>
<p>“It was fun,” Jose assures him. “Those E Class kids are tough, and smart. And they’ve been professionally trained.” </p>
<p>Everyone, including the other A Class students who are helping clean up, look at him, surprised. “Really?” Seo voices.</p>
<p>Jose nods. “I know a pro when I see one. My dad is an international fighter, after all. All of those kids were taught by someone who knew what they were teaching. Is that something this school does? I would be interested in learning from whoever taught them.” </p>
<p>Everyone exchanges glances. “We don’t think so,” Araki finally admits. “Maybe it’s something they do in their free time.”</p>
<p>He doesn’t look like he believes this in the slightest, and neither does Gakushuu. </p>
<p>Still, despite their loss, everyone is in relatively high spirits, which is a relief. Maybe before he lost his memory, he wouldn’t have let everyone know the competition didn’t matter, but he’s pretty sure his words are the reason no one looks down about losing. <i>So</i>, he decides, <i>it was worth it, in the end</i>. </p>
<p>It strikes Gakushuu that after only about a week, he really does care about this class. Maybe it’s because of Ren, or the fact that he’s both a class rep and student council president, but whatever the case is, he doesn’t want them to feel bad about what happened.</p>
<p>Or maybe that’s also something left over from before he woke up. That would be nice too.</p>
<p>Then he and the exchange students are called into the principal's office, and Gakushuu can’t shake the feeling that something is about to go horribly wrong.</p><hr/>
<p>“Anyone can see that, by some miracle, E Class won a battle heavily stacked against them,” the principal says, as they stand in front of his desk, only the light of day letting anyone see in the dark room. “In other words, you were defeated utterly. You aren’t fit to be a leader.”</p>
<p>He says this with a smile, even though his eyes are cold. The feeling of fear in Gakushuu’s stomach is back. </p>
<p>“That’s not true,” Sang Hyuk replies, stepping forward. Gakushuu feels a shudder go through his body, although he’s not entirely sure why. The principal wouldn’t hurt exchange students, right? That would in turn hurt the schools reputation. “The game was decided just by who’s falling pole touched the ground first. It wasn’t utter defeat.” </p>
<p>His thoughts aren’t as reassuring as he hoped they’d be. Is this a feeling from before? Would his father hurt other students? <i>Fuck. Fuck, this is bad, they need to leave</i>. </p>
<p>“Chief Director, your son is extremely capable,” Kevin adds. Gakushuu should speak up, tell him to stop, but he feels frozen. “As his father, you should tell him that there’s a lot he can learn from losing.”</p>
<p>“You have an interesting opinion, Kevin,” his father says, in English, and Gakushuu shudders. “Perhaps you could help me learn as well? If I were to lose, I might be able to learn from that loss.” He throws his jacket onto the chair and turns to them. “All four at once, please.”</p>
<p>Gakushuu finally finds his voice. “This is ridiculous,” he snaps. “Principal, you really can’t-” </p>
<p>“Now now, Asano. This could be an important lesson.” Gakushuu hears the warning in his father’s voice, clear as day. </p>
<p>He should do something about this. He should… he should-</p><hr/>
<p>“<i>Say, Asano. You just lost, so why isn’t the frustration eating you alive?</i>”</p><hr/>
<p>The door to the principal’s office opens. “Gakushuu? You’ve been in there a while, I saw the principal leave, is everyth-<i>holy fuck</i>!”</p>
<p>“Ren,” Gakushuu acknowledges distantly, feeling a million miles away. The room is still covered in blood, Kevin’s and Jose’s and Sang Hyuk’s and Camille’s blood. “I already called an ambulance, they should be on their way.”</p>
<p>Jose put up the most of a fight, and he barely looks like he’s breathing-</p>
<p>“<i>Oh god oh fuck</i> - Gakushuu.” Then Ren his right in front of him, gripping his shoulders. Gakushuu flinches on instinct, and Ren pulls back, horrified. “Are you - are you hurt anywhere?” </p>
<p>He shakes his head. “It’s not for me, it’s for them. It’s all their blood. He didn’t hit me.”</p>
<p>Somehow, he vaguely feels that he should’ve seen this coming from a long ways away, considering what he knows about the principal. Then again, he’s also fairly sure that most abusive parents like to keep their abuse hidden. He didn’t realize his father just didn’t care. </p>
<p>Could he have stopped this, if he had his memories?</p>
<p>...Is he going to have to go home, after this?</p>
<p>The idea of that makes him sick. He’d be alone with the man who just beat kids his age bloody in front of him to prove a point to <i>him</i>, to <i>Gakushuu</i>, fuck his father hurt his friends <i>as a lesson to his son</i>, and he’d be alone with the man-</p>
<p>“Ren,” he asks unsteadily. “Do you mind, can I stay, I don’t want,”</p>
<p>“You can stay over at my place,” Ren assures him quickly. “Fuck, don’t go home tonight, stay over.”</p>
<p>“Okay,” Gakushuu says.</p>
<p>He tried to stick it out, and this is what happened. Now he’s running.</p>
<p>“Actually, stay over for as long as you want,” Ren adds. “Don’t - I don’t think you should go back there for a while. I’m afraid that-” he cuts off.</p>
<p>“Okay,” Gakushuu repeats. </p>
<p>The ambulance arrives, and they set about helping the exchange students onto the stretchers. Then the other virtuosos help clean up the blood. </p>
<p>The principal doesn’t show up to help. Gakushuu doesn’t expect him to.</p><hr/>
<p>Gakushuu does end up going back to his house, but only to grab some of his things. Instinct guides him around the back, where he climbs up a tree and slips through the window of his bedroom. He grabs some textbooks and his guitar, and opens up the secret panel in the closet. </p>
<p>After a quick bit of deliberation, Gakushuu takes the photos, the books, some of the drawings, the stuffed tiger, and the emergency cash and numbers, and puts them in his bag. He grabs a post-it-note, scribbles down “<i>Having a sleepover, don’t expect me back until you stop beating up kids. Love Asano</i>” and sets it on his bed before climbing out the window again.</p>
<p>He’s got Ren’s address in google maps, so he’s able to find his way there. Luckily it’s not too far of a walk, and Ren opens the door as soon as he rings the bell, relief etched into his face. “You came!”</p>
<p>“I said I would, didn’t I?” Ren lets him in. “I brought a lot of stuff. Figured he might trash it if he found it and I was gone.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, makes sense.” Ren spots the little stuffed tiger. “You still have Tubs? I thought you said you got rid of it years ago.”</p>
<p>Gakushuu shrugs. <i>Tubs, huh</i>? It’s a cute name, he supposes, especially if he named it when he was young. “Secret nook in the closet.” Ren nods in understanding. “Your parents, will they be mad if I stay too long?”</p>
<p>Ren waves this off. “They’ll be gone for a few more weeks, and they adore you. It’s all good.”</p>
<p>It’s probably not a good thing that Ren’s not worried about his parents leaving him alone for weeks, but it isn’t as though Gakushuu has any room to talk. Ren takes him to a guest room right next to the boy’s own, and he sets his things down.</p>
<p>It’s a pretty room, lots of soft reds and golds with a nice balcony. It already has more personality than his actual room at his own house.</p>
<p>He still feels like he’s in some sort of shock, but now the feeling is being mixed with relief. </p>
<p>But he can’t get the image of his bloodied friends out of his head. </p>
<p>It was just supposed to be a friendly competition. It was a middle school sports festival, it wasn’t supposed to <i>matter</i>-</p>
<p>His hands are shaking. Gakushuu takes a deep breath. </p>
<p>It didn’t matter. The competition was nothing, and it wasn’t their fault for not taking it seriously. It was his father’s, for being so obsessed with Gakushuu winning that he’d beat up his friends if he failed. It wasn’t Gakushuu’s fault. He logically knows this.</p>
<p>He’s still shaking. </p>
<p>They do their homework, and then they take it easy for the rest of the day. Gakushuu makes hot cocoa, and they watch a movie. It’s nice. </p>
<p>His father doesn’t call, or come and get him. He slowly starts to relax.</p>
<p>“Has he been doing these kinds of things constantly recently?” Ren asks that night. Gakushuu looks at him curiously. “Is that what’s been up with you lately?”</p>
<p>Ah. Well. </p>
<p><i>Maybe</i>, Gakushuu decides, <i>it wouldn’t be so bad to let this one person know</i>. </p>
<p>“No, that would be the amnesia,” Gakushuu admits. “I woke up a week ago with no idea of who I am. I’ve sort of been playing everything by ear since then. He just pulled this today, not any other day that I can remember.”</p>
<p>“Oh,” Ren says. “Wait. What?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Amnesiac Gakushuu saw an opening to get out of that house, and by god did he take it. Without the memories of needing to prove himself better, and no real love for Gakuhou, he's got no qualms of getting out of that toxic environment. And Ren knows! That's improvement!</p>
<p>I hope you enjoyed, and please leave a review, let me know what you thought!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tying up some lose ends, and a few more questions.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So you’ve really had amnesia for the past week.” Ren rubs his temples. “That… explains a lot actually. Ugh, how did I not notice that my best friend didn’t have a clue who I was?”</p>
<p>“I thought I was doing an alright job of hiding it,” Gakushuu offers. </p>
<p>Despite his obvious stress at the current situation, Ren snickers a bit. “I don’t know about that. You were definitely acting off. I’m pretty sure the other virtuosos know that something is up at least.”</p>
<p>Gakushuu raises an eyebrow. “But they don’t expect that something is amnesia, now do they?”</p>
<p>“Point,” Ren concedes. “I still think you should go see a doctor, or something.”</p>
<p>“What do you want to bet they’d start asking questions about my home life that I don’t feel like answering though?” Gakushuu sighs. “Besides the memory loss, I feel totally fine anyways. That doesn’t sound like a usual injury.” </p>
<p>“Memory loss is still bad by itself!” Ren shakes his head. “Whatever, I’m not going to make you. Yet.” Gakushuu makes a face at him, which he ignores. “It does beg the question - how <i>did</i> you get amnesia?”</p>
<p>“As cliché as it sounds, I really don’t know.” Gakushuu frowns. “The first thing I remember is waking up on the lawn sometime after dawn, and nothing absolutely nothing about myself. You said that I usually don’t show up to school that early in the morning, so I’m not sure what would cause me to break routine like that.” </p>
<p>“And you usually like to stick to your schedules as well,” Ren agrees thoughtfully. “Did the principal mention anything about you going to school early that day? Or say something about it in general?”</p>
<p>Gakushuu shakes his head. “Not a single comment on it. Although I’m guessing he usually doesn’t care about me enough to tell anyways.” Ren looks somber at that. “Not that it really matters to me at the moment, it would just be nice to have a bit more information, and I’m not getting that from him.”</p>
<p>“Yeah.” Ren still looks sad, but he shakes his head. “Hopefully you’ll start remembering soon anyways.” His face turns serious. “But if you don’t remember in a month, we’re going to a doctor, okay?”</p>
<p>“...Fine.” It’s probably as good as he’ll get. “Before then, though, could you tell me a bit about myself? How long have we been friends?”</p>
<p>“Since we were about seven,” Ren informs him, a small smile growing on his face. “And I’ve got lots of stories for you.”</p><hr/>
<p>Word about what happened to the exchange students spreads quickly throughout campus. People are giving Gakushuu questioning and sympathetic looks, but no one outright asks him about it, which he appreciates. </p>
<p>Around lunchtime, his thoughts drift to Isogai. They hadn’t had a chance to talk after the match, and Gakushuu wanted to congratulate him on his win, to show he was being serious when he said no hard feelings.</p>
<p>Plus, he’s curious about the mountaintop classroom. Ren didn’t mention much about it, because they had spent last night mostly talking about things the two of them did when they were younger, something he really appreciates. It’s the first glimpse he’s had into his own childhood, after all.</p>
<p>And his teachers are all walking on eggshells around him, so he should be able to get up and leave during lunchtime, and they won’t remark on his absence if he’s late to his next class.</p>
<p>Gakushuu wonders just how much the teachers know about his father, and what had gone down. </p>
<p>So he tells the virtuosos he’s going to take a walk, assures Ren and the others that he’ll be fine, and starts heading up the mountain. It’s a little bit perilous, there are snakes and falling boulders for some reason, <i>why the fuck is there a class up- oh wait, this is his father, of course there’s a class up here</i>. </p>
<p>And as Gakushuu is getting closer to what he hopes is the top, he sees the octopus creature. It’s all yellow now, tentacles flailing about, a robe that makes him look like a cosplay teacher covering most of his body. </p>
<p>If he really is the E Class teacher, he’ll know where Isogai is. Gakushuu heads up to him.</p>
<p>“Excuse me? I was hoping to talk to Isogai, is he in the classroom?” Gakushuu asks. The creature turns to him.</p>
<p>“Hmm? Oh, he’s outside, since the students are having lunch now…” The octopus trails off. Stares at Gakushuu. Gakushuu stares back. </p>
<p>Then there’s a puff of wind, and the creature is gone. Shrugging to himself, Gakushuu continues on his way. </p>
<p>Isogai is eating lunch outside, and lucky for Gakushuu, he’s just gone a little ways away from his classmates. He heads over. “Isogai?”</p>
<p>Isogai startles. “Asano? What are you doing up here? Not that you can’t be up here or anything, it’s just you know, most main campus kids don’t come up here.”</p>
<p>“I wanted to congratulate you on a good game yesterday,” Gakushuu tells him. “We didn’t get the chance to talk afterwards, so I figured I’d catch you during lunch.” </p>
<p>Isogai’s face lights up. “Oh, thank you then. You guys were really good yourselves. What was up with those burly kids though? I haven’t seen them before.”</p>
<p>Something in Gakushuu’s chest clenches painfully. “They were exchange students. The principal suggested they join in the game, and so I offered, and they agreed.” He tries and fails not to think about the bloody room again, or the way Isogai is now studying him with a more concerned expression.</p>
<p>“Asano-”</p>
<p>“You!” They both turn to see several E Class students staring at them, as well as the octopus monster and a sharply dressed man with spiky hair. The other kids look alarmed. Is it because of the octopus? Was he wrong in thinking the thing was their teacher?</p>
<p>Gakushuu, totally lost, gives them all a wave. “Hello.” </p>
<p>“How long have you known about the octopus?” The man asks.</p>
<p>Isogai startles. “You know about Korosensei?”</p>
<p>Gakushuu looks at the octopus, Korosensei, again. Well. That’s. <i>Hang on, is he seriously supposed to be a secret?</i></p>
<p>“A while?” He finally says. “He has a big round head and tentacles, he’s sort of obvious.” </p>
<p>The man rounds on Korosensei, who buries his face in his hands, spitting out excuses. Gakushuu turns to Isogai, who shrugs with a helpless smile on his face.</p><hr/>
<p>“Is it just me, or do people know about the octopus monster at our school?” Gakushuu asks Ren later that night. “I mean. I guess it’s supposed to be a secret, but, like, he’s got a giant color-changing head.” </p>
<p>“Oh, everyone at school knows about him,” Ren assures him, and Gakushuu almost sighs in relief. “He came to the assembly with E Class near the beginning of the year, and another teacher tried to stab him, and he would like, zoom out of the way in a total blur. People just don’t want to get into it or acknowledge he’s there because, like, there’s stabbing going on there. People come to this school to get good grades, not to die. So yeah, we all just sort of ignore it.”</p>
<p>Gakushuu thinks about what he learned today about Korosensei, the assassination E Class is being trained for, the fact that his father and the government potentially set an entire middle school class up to die like that, and all the non-disclosure forms he had to sign. “Yeah, that makes sense.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I like to think main campus knew there was some weird creature teaching 3-E after that display during the assembly, they just all collectively went "<i>not worth it, just here to get good grades and graduate</i>", and left well alone. I'm also pretty sure Gakushuu did in fact find out about Korosensei at some point, if only because he's super smart and Korosensei is super obvious, which would explain why he doesn't <i>actually</i> try and find out the E Class secret after the first finals, and tells 3-E to "assassinate" his fathers ideals, with that exact phrasing.</p>
<p>That's what I'm going with in this story, at least.</p>
<p>Hope you enjoyed, please leave a review, let me know what you think!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Midterms come and go.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“How long have you known about Korosensei?” The principal demands. </p><p>Gakushuu shifts, trying to shove the bloody images out of his mind. This is the first time he’s been back in his father’s office since the exchange students were hurt. He’s been emailing with them, and they don’t blame him, but they aren’t coming back to Kunugigaoka. Honestly, Gakushuu’s glad they aren’t. At least they’ll be safer if they leave.</p><p>“It’s a giant yellow octopus, <i>sir</i>,” he drawls, forcing all the nerves deep down where the principal can’t see them. “You didn’t honestly thought I wouldn’t find out?”</p><p>His father raises an eyebrow. “You seemed so eager, during finals. So willing to do anything and blackmail anyone to get my secrets.”</p><p>“So you do admit that Korosensei is the secret you were keeping?” Gakushuu enjoys how his father’s face twists, and pushes away the unease he feels at the idea that he tried to blackmail people just to get one over his father. “Thank you for the confirmation. How do you know I wasn’t just trying to get a rise out of you, make you nervous? You’re just so great at hiding things, I mean considering-”</p><p>“Get out,” the principal snaps. Gakushuu hides his grin as he flees the room.</p>
<hr/><p>The midterms are coming up, and that means most nights are spent studying at Ren’s house. Gakushuu flips through his textbooks, taking notes and feeling pleasantly surprised at discovering he instinctively knows almost all of it already. </p><p>Then again, considering what Ren’s told him, and what he already knew, maybe it’s not that much of a surprise after all. Studying and doing well at school seems to be something that he put above pretty much everything else before he lost his memory. </p><p>“Usually you’d also be tutoring a few kids from A Class and lower,” Ren notes one night, as they’re working through Japanese together. “Did you know about that? I thought you did.”</p><p>“Don’t worry, I did,” Gakushuu assures him. “The problem is that while I know most of these things, ask me to show someone else how to get there and suddenly the thought process is gone. I have to just write all my thoughts down and hope it forms something coherent they could use. I figured I wouldn’t be of much help to anyone like that.”</p><p>“Ah.” Gakushuu makes a face at Ren’s sad look. It’s not that big of a deal, really. He feels bad for whoever he was teaching, but he’d tried tutoring a couple days ago and it went… well, not horribly, at least. But it was made clear that Gakushuu was in no position to teach.</p><p>(He may or may not be still reeling from the embarrassment, but Ren doesn’t need to know that.)</p><p>They take a break a bit later, and Gakushuu goes to make them a snack while Ren gets the mail. When he walks back, he’s holding a letter, looking rather excited. </p><p>“Is that from your parents?” Gakushuu wonders. They’re supposed to be coming back in a little while anyways. </p><p>“Yeah. They’ve been in a place with really bad reception for a while, so they send letters when they can.” Ren rips open the paper, looking eager. He reads it, his face falls a bit, and Gakushuu’s heart sinks a little. </p><p>Then Ren looks back up at him with a cheerful smile. “So! We’ve got the house to ourselves for a little while longer. Turns out they were debating on extending their trip for a while, and ended up deciding to do it. Perks of being rich, right? Switching up travel plans like that.”</p><p>“They couldn’t call you for this information?” Gakushuu wonders.</p><p>Ren grips the letter a little tighter. “Like I said, bad reception.” He seems to get what Gakushuu is thinking, because he shakes his head with a small smile. “It’s not like that. They love me, and they love each other. They just… get a bit caught up in themselves sometimes. We have a great time when they’re home.”</p><p>“That doesn’t make it right,” Gakushuu points out. “That’s what you’d say to me, isn’t it?”</p><p>His friend’s face falls. “Yeah, I guess. It’s just, it’s not nearly as bad, they aren’t abusive or anything, so.” He doesn’t seem to want to finish that sentence. “Anyways, extended sleepover without parents! That’s always fun!”</p><p>Gakushuu lets the subject go for now.</p>
<hr/><p>In the end, they all do really well on midterms. Gakushuu comes in first place, and some kid named Akabane from E Class comes in second. The rest of the top five (and sixth) spots are taken up by the other virtuosos. </p><p>Everyone looks really relieved. “And we beat E Class by a landslide!” Koyama says. “They all did terribly. Bet they’re licking their wounds right now. Hah!”</p><p>Ren leans over to Gakushuu and mutters “A and E Class have a really big rivalry.” And yeah, that puts a lot of things into perspective, and they make a lot more sense. </p><p>Still, everyone in A Class is in high spirits, which means Gakushuu is also in high spirits. He leaves with the other virtuosos, chatting about their tests, and some of the E Class kids pass them by.</p><p>Seo spots them and starts heckling, and Koyama joins in, and Gakushuu frowns, because while he can understand a rivalry, this seems unnecessarily antagonistic. Kicking people while they’re down seems like something his father would do.</p><p>Then again, speaking of his father, not only are they in the man’s system, but A Class had to clean up the exchange student’s blood in his father’s office after their loss, which might be why everyone is so relieved to have beaten them. </p><p>It still seems a little unfair though. </p><p>Before Gakushuu can say anything, tell them to stop or to just ignore them or something-</p><p>“Well, then you can’t complain about my scores now can you?” And there’s a really cute boy with bright red hair right in front of them, showing off his second place rank. This must be Akabane.</p><p>He’s <i>really</i> cute, actually. Um. Wow. </p><p>Akabane goes on to say how his classmates had simply let A Class win, because they had suffered too many losses to E Class already and it was out of pity, and Gakushuu gives him an incredulous look before finally speaking up.</p><p>“That’s the best lie you could come up with? Really?” Everyone turns to look at him, and oh, Isogai is there too, this is awkward, and he forces himself to keep looking neutral. “This is a prep school, and whatever the “competition”, an entire class won’t lower their grades that much just because they pity another class.” He raises an eyebrow. “You're making your class sound like sore losers, making up excuses like that. It's like you're saying that you all couldn't stand losing, so you needed to come up with some excuse to feel better about yourselves.” </p><p>He knows Isogai isn’t a sore loser, at least. Since he found out about Korosensei, most of E Class had been either sending him curious looks when they ran into him, muttering annoying things about him, or just flat out ignoring him. No one but Isogai has really seemed interested in talking to him yet, which is fine because he wouldn’t know how to deal with that. Some of them seem like sore losers, sure, but it’s not like A Class can judge. </p><p>Akabane leans into Gakushuu’s personal space a bit, with a toothy grin showing off his strangely sharp canines. “Pot calling the kettle black, I think. After all, when have you missed the opportunity to gloat? Then again, how could we blame you? You lose so much you need to take every win you can get. Your fragile egos couldn’t handle any less.”</p><p><i>Never mind</i>, Gakushuu decides. Akabane may be cute, but he’s also an asshole, and his words just bring back the image of his bloodied friends again. He puts on his most innocent face. “And when have I personally been a sore loser as of late?”</p><p>By the look on Akabane’s face, he’s been told about how Gakushuu went up the mountain to congratulate Isogai on their win. The other boy recovers quickly, smirking. “Don’t act so high and mighty, Mr. Principal’s Son. I didn’t see you defending my classmates when your friends were insulting them.”</p><p>That. Is unfortunately true. Gakushuu thinks he was going to say something, but Karma interrupted his thought process on what. He does feel kind of bad about that. </p><p>But he’s also very stubborn. Probably too stubborn.</p><p>“Funny,” he says. “You seem to do a perfectly fine job of insulting them yourself, insinuating that they’re liars and sore losers like you just did. You don’t need anyone else’s help to do that.” He gives Akabane a polite smile and moves right past him, nodding cordially to Isogai as he goes. Judging by the footsteps, the other virtuosos are following him. </p><p>“Way to shut down Akabane,” Araki says. “But what was that about? No offense, Asano, but has something been wrong lately? Besides…” He trails off, but they all know what he means.</p><p>Gakushuu sighs and searches for some good words. “I’m just tired of playing my father’s games, is all. He’s so obsessed with us fighting, and I don’t want to play into his hands like that. Anymore.” Because as much as he hates to admit it, he probably did mock E Class at some point, which is why they’re all weary of him now.</p><p>It’s not something he wants to think about. He wants to believe he was a decent person, at least. But those weary looks didn’t come out of nowhere. Ren puts a hand on his shoulder, which is nice. </p><p>Araki’s eyes soften. “Yeah, that makes sense. Sorry about all that, then. Maybe we can just ignore them, for a while?” </p><p>“If it’ll make you feel better,” Koyama agrees.</p><p>“I still don’t like them,” Seo mutters.</p><p>“You don’t like anyone,” Ren points out. Gakushuu fails to hide a bit of a smile, even as he acknowledges the irony in that they’re willing to stop for his sake, rather than the kids being hurt. </p><p>…</p><p><i>Oh, what the hell. They're already very suspicious</i>.  </p><p>“Also, I have amnesia,” he adds. Ren lets out a startled laugh, and Seo trips over Koyama’s feet.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Confused Gakushuu with morals is so much fun to write. He hasn't had so many morals in years, he doesn't know what to do with them all. It's so new and confusing. At least the other virtuosos have joined the fun!<br/>Also:</p><p>Karma: *Shows up*</p><p>Gakushuu: cute boy???</p><p>Karma: *Opens his mouth*</p><p>Gakushuu: Ah, an Asshole. Never mind.</p><p>I hope you all enjoyed, and please leave a review, let me know what you liked!</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Gakushuu does some digging, and doesn't like what he finds.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry about the delay! Hope you all enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So, how does this work, exactly?” Koyama asks, frowning. “You fell and hit your head? But when why would all the neural pathways relating to memory be destroyed, and none of those related to experience? What caused that of all things to happen? How did you hit your head in the first place?”</p><p>Gakushuu rubs his temples. “I wish I knew. But, as I mentioned, I don’t remember, so I can’t answer your questions.”</p><p>“We did suspect something was up,” Araki admitted. “But I don’t think any of us could’ve predicted amnesia.” He hesitates. “Does the principal know?”</p><p>Gakushuu shakes his head. “I haven’t stayed with him since the sports festival.” He notes their sighs of relief and feels kind of warm and fuzzy inside, which is a nice feeling. “But he didn’t realize it before, and hasn’t figured it out since, that I can tell. I’m honestly not sure he’d even care if I straight up told him, as long as I did well at school.”</p><p>“Sounds like him,” Seo agrees. Ren pulls a face, but it’s not as though Seo is wrong. </p><p>“Don’t worry,” Gakushuu assures them, “I’m still perfectly capable of doing my work for the student council and leading the class.”</p><p>“Yeah, I don’t think that’s what anyone here is worried about,” Ren comments lightly. </p><p>“Seriously. You<i> lost your memory</i>. Are you sure you’re alright?” Araki asks anxiously. </p><p>“That’s a lot more important than being the student council president, at least to us,” Koyama adds, and Gakushuu tries not to look too choked up. </p><p>Sure, these guys can be kind of mean spirited, but they <i>care</i> and that’s. It’s nice. Really nice. </p><p>“I’ll be fine,” he repeats, because he does in fact feel fine, and there’s not much else that he can say right now. It’s just, nice. That he has friends that care. </p><p>His thoughts drift back to E Class, and their apparent rivalry. What was his role in that? How can he find out more about it? </p><p><i>Does</i> he want to know more about it? Does he even really care? As long as he’s polite to them now, does it even really matter? </p><p>But Gakushuu kind of wants to know. It would be nice to learn more about who he is, at least, even if it’s from the perspective of people who don’t have as high of an opinion of him. It’s not like he’s going to ask Akabane, who would definitely lie about it. But maybe he could ask Isogai?</p><p>It’s a tentative plan, but it’s one Gakushuu decides to set in motion.</p>
<hr/><p>The café where Isogai works isn’t very crowded on the day Gakushuu decides to visit again, which works just fine for him. Eventually Isogai ends up at his table, all decked out in his waiter’s uniform.</p><p>“Welcome! What can I get for you today?” His smile looks a little nervous, but other than that, doesn’t seem bothered by Gakushuu’s appearance. </p><p>Gakushuu smiles politely back. “I’ll have the green tea and honey-cake, please. Oh, and perhaps a chat, when you have a break?”</p><p>Isogai’s eyes widen. “Um, yeah. My shift ends in about half an hour, can you wait until then?” Gakushuu nods, and Isogai leaves, returning with his order, which is still delicious. It’s easy to wait for Isogai’s shift to end, but there are nerves that are starting to rise up in his stomach the longer he sits there.</p><p>It feels ridiculous. Why should he be nervous about this? He just wants to know, after all. Then again, if he wants Isogai to speak openly, does that mean he’ll have to come clean? Surely there’s a way around that, right? </p><p>He thinks about it a bit more. No, he can do this without revealing anything. It’ll be fine.</p><p>After what feels like hours, Isogai is back in his normal clothes and seated across from Gakushuu, still looking nervous. “So, what did you want to talk about?” </p><p>“Ah, it’s nothing big.” Gakushuu thinks carefully about how he’ll phrase his words. “I’m curious as to what you think of me.” Seeing Isogai’s confused expression, he elaborates. “Things have obviously been tense between your class and I, especially after they found out I knew about your octopus teacher.” He tries not to roll his eyes here, because he has <i>amnesia</i> and still figured that out, how did they think it was a secret. “But you’ve never acted that way. I suppose I was wondering why.”</p><p>Isogai blinks, processing this, then looks thoughtful. “Well, I think everyone was originally mad about the bet you guys made over finals, which really lowered whatever opinion they had of you.”</p><p>He’s been told about that bet by Ren, recently. Gakushuu raises an eyebrow. “Even though your class won?” </p><p>Isogai smiles sheepishly. “It’s more about the spirit of the whole thing. At this point everyone’s just really tired of getting picked on by the upper classes. It was nice to finally beat them grade-wise, but that didn’t make those feelings go away.”</p><p>That’s understandable. If Gakushuu got a leg up on his father, that wouldn’t take away the fact that the man beat his friends bloody (and he still can’t get that image out of his head. He has so few memories, and it stands out in his mind like a sharp wound that’s still healing over). </p><p>“Still though,” the other boy continues, “Technically it was your friends who made the bet, and not you. Not to mention that you’ve kept my job a secret even though you didn’t have to, and walked all the way up the mountain to congratulate me on the pole-topping game. So I don’t think you’re that bad of a guy I guess.” He shifts awkwardly. “Which, um, I should be able to stop soon, since my mom is recovering.”</p><p>That’s… a relief, honestly. Hearing that he wasn’t as involved with hurting this other class as he’d suspected he was. He still clearly let it happen, which wasn’t great, but at least he wasn’t as directly antagonistic.</p><p>Still, all the <i>good</i> things Isogai mentioned had taken place after Gakushuu had lost his memory. Would he have been worse if he’d remembered? It was an uncomfortable thought.</p><p>“Thank you for indulging me,” he finally says, with a polite smile. “And don’t worry about it. I hope your mother has a speedy recovery.”</p><p>“Thanks.” Isogai smiles back at him. “You really are a decent guy, Asano. I wish you’d show this side of you to my classmates more.”</p><p>That’s nice of him. But “<i>this side</i>” is just Gakushuu without memories, and it really wouldn’t be fair to get their hopes up, in case he does end up remembering again. “Right.”</p>
<hr/><p>“I still think you should go see a doctor at this point,” Ren says, as they’re in the kitchen washing dishes one night. “It’s been a while, and your memories still aren’t back. I mean, as funny as it was when the other guys found out, it’s not exactly healthy for you. You could have serious damage or something.”</p><p>“I feel fine,” Gakushuu insists, putting another plate in the dishwasher. They had decided to try and cook a big meal tonight, which turned out great, except now they had a lot to clean up. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate it, but seriously, I’ve been doing alright.” He thinks about the other virtuosos’ reactions to learning he had amnesia, as well as Ren’s reaction. “And if nothing else, it<i> is</i> kind of funny when I tell people.” </p><p>“It’s because you’re so blunt about it,” Ren informs him with an exasperated smile. “It’s not your usual method of delivery.”</p><p>“That’s fair. Especially since it seems like being polite is my modus operandi when dealing with people.” Gakushuu leans against the kitchen counter. “Everyone gets so shocked when I’m honest with them. Do you think I’d get a rise out of Akabane by telling him that he’s ruining his cute looks by being such an ass?” </p><p>Ren chokes, startled laugh turning into a coughing fit. “<i>Oh my god</i>. What.” </p><p>“It’s true,” Gakushuu points out lightly. “I mean, have you seen the guy? Cute as hell. But I’ve only spoken with him for a few minutes, that I can remember, and he’s the most annoying student I’ve met so far. Honestly, if I’m not the one to tell him, then someone should. For the good of the student body, of course.” He fails to hide his grin as Ren doubles over shaking.</p><p>“Holy shit, Shuu, you can’t just say things like that, I’m <i>dying</i>-” he cuts off suddenly, laughter fading away into awkward silence. </p><p>Gakushuu blinks. “What’s wrong?” Ren just looks at him, conflicted, and Gakushuu tries to think back to what he said that might’ve provoked this reaction. </p><p>“I - sorry.” He looks back at Ren, who looks a bit more serious now. “Sorry, that wasn’t fair. I just - I shouldn’t have called you that.”</p><p>“What? Shuu?” Is that what he’s talking about? “It’s just a nickname, right? I don’t mind it.” </p><p>Ren doesn’t meet his eyes. “Yeah, I guess. It’s just…” he seems to struggle to find his words. “Um. You asked me not to call you that a while back, and I just, it sort of slipped out.” He looks awkward, and apologetic, and Gakushuu’s feeling more and more uncomfortable. </p><p>Gakushuu frowns. “Why would I ask that?” It doesn’t seem like a bad nickname or anything. </p><p>“Ah, you said we were getting too old for nicknames,” Ren admits. “But it’s fine! It’s not a bad thing or anything, I just, it sort of slipped, which isn’t fair. I mean, just because you don’t remember asking me not to call you that doesn’t mean I should do it.” </p><p>But that sounds so <i>childish</i>, saying that he’s too old for a nickname. And Ren looks so apologetic too.</p><p>“I don’t mind if you call me Shuu,” Gakushuu says, and Ren seems to startle. “Like you just said, I don’t remember telling you not to call me that, and I don’t care whether or not we’re “too old” for it.” He hesitates, because with all the recent mess with E Class, and this on top of it…</p><p>“Ren, was I a good friend, before?” He asks. “Honestly.”</p><p>Ren seems to still, eyes wide, and Gakushuu’s heart seems to freeze in his chest. </p><p>It only lasts a second though. “You were, I promise!” Ren insists. “I mean, it’s just some nickname, it wasn’t really that big of a deal. I mean, if you don’t mind me calling you that at the moment then that’s cool! But you’ve always been my best friend, so don’t worry about it.”</p><p>But that’s <i>not helpful</i>. Thinking back on it, Ren seemed so surprised when Gakushuu noticed he was upset with his parents. If they’d been friends for so long, shouldn’t he have already known? Ren knew his problems with his own father, after all. Was he just oblivious and wrapped up in his own issues? And Ren usually calls him “Asano” at school, when he doesn’t seem the type to want to put that distance between them, which means that might be Gakushuu’s fault as well. </p><p>It just. Didn’t seem fair. </p><p>“I’ll try and be better,” he tells Ren, quietly. “I. Maybe you’re right, and I was fine, but still.” Fuck, he’s always so good with words, even without memory to back them up. Why is it so hard now? “I’ll try and be a better friend. Just be honest with me, okay?”</p><p>The E Class mess where he never called anyone out for picking on them, not being as good of a friend to Ren as the other boy was to him, the fact that everyone seemed to think that he would rat Isogai out when he was clearly struggling, the fact that he clearly played along with his father’s idiotic and frankly unhinged fantasies.</p><p>It. Well. It didn’t paint the nicest picture. </p><p>Did he even really <i>want</i> to know more about who he was at this point?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Ah yes, the awkwardness that comes with realizing you were kind of an asshole before you lost your memory. Poor Shuu. Not that he didn't have his reasons, of course, but that doesn't take away from how he acted in canon, and an amnesiac Gakushuu with more morals might not react well to that. </p><p>(Also, if anyone is curious, a big part of my headcanons for Ren and Gakushuu come from <i>A Helping Hand</i>, by karmicMayhem, which is an awesome story that you should check out!)</p><p>Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed, and please don't forget to leave a review, let me know what you think!</p>
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